Secrets of an Author-it Shop by Mary Connor

This presentation will provide a technical writing tour inside the workings of a software shop that uses Author-it™, a leading component content management system. ASI's documentation process combines many strategies that would work in other contexts: virtualization, allowing for complete machine and location independence; automation, using nightly build scripts to output entire Help systems, websites, and user guide sets; single-sourcing, reusing content across multiple contexts for consistency and efficiency; publication, creating separate deliverables for marketing, production, and training; and participation, opening our documentation to Google, to prospects and competitors, and to users who want to engage us directly about our content.

Speaker bio

A past president of STC Austin, Mary has an M.A. in English and has been teaching and performing technical communication for 20 years. Currently Documentation Architect at Advanced Solutions International, she specializes in software documentation and training materials, single-sourcing and content management, usability and universal design, and information system design. She is working on how to develop content and deliver training using social technologies, and she is cross-training in programming and automated testing within her Agile scrum team. She just became a certified Instructional Designer through DSA (www.dsink.com) and hopes to formally study Interaction Design next.

Schedule

6:00 - 6:30 PM: Networking
6:30 - 7:45 PM: Program
8:00 - 9:00 PM: Optional dinner at a nearby restaurant

Meeting location

University of Texas Campus, ECJ (Ernest Cockrell Junior) building
At the corner of Dean Keeton and San Jacinto [map]
The building sign reads Civil Architectural and Environmental Engineering
10th Floor, Engineering Foundation Room

Free parking after 5:45 pm in the faculty lot, east side of ECJ
For parking information, see http://www.utexas.edu/parking/maps/

Web meeting

This meeting will also be available online. To register for the online meeting, go to:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/852934770

You can view a video of the presentation here.